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It only figures that possibly the wildest, wackiest high schoolsoftball game ever played - one that would end 47-44 after nearly fivehours of play - would have a few surreal moments.
For Charlotte (N.C.) West Charlotte assistant coach GeraldHerbert, it came midway through, when parents who arrived back at theschool for pickup and couldn't find their kids, called them on thephone and discovered they were sitting in a dugout miles away, stillplaying.
"They were like, 'Mom, we're still here - and it's only the fifth inning,'" Herbert said.
For Charlotte (N.C.) Vance athletic director Rick Gardner, it came in the late innings.
"The umpire, who we were paying $50 to work the game, had hireda babysitter to watch his kids," Gardner started the story with alaugh. "About 9 o'clock, he turns to me and says, 'Well, if this gamegoes much longer it's going to cost me money.
"We both had a good laugh."
Everyone involved got a good memory.
Two teams - both young, both inexperienced and both obviouslyevenly matched - traded runs, hits, errors and a lot of walks. TheApril 13 game started at 5 p.m. and ended at 9:38. In the end, WestCharlotte prevailed, 47-44.
[table][tr][td][/td][td]
[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td]West Charlotte softball team members, clockwise from top left, are Diamond Brown, Etonia Curry, Amanda Crews and Nayla Swanson. [/td][/tr][/table]The91 combined runs were the second-highest total in history, according tothe National Federation of High School Sports record book. East Machias(Maine) Academy and Lubec (Maine) combined for 94 runs in 1983. Butthat game ended with East Machias on top, 88-6.
This game wasn't a blowout. Far from it.
"It was like a championship game," Herbert said. "Both teams were very intense, played like it was 1-0 the whole game."
Don't be confused; it wasn't low-scoring for very long.
West Charlotte scored three times in the top of the first, thengave up 15 in the bottom half. But it rallied to score 12 in the top ofthe second to tie the game. That's when Herbert knew something specialwas starting.
"The girls said, 'Now we know we can score on this team, we canwin this game - we can score runs just like they can score runs.'"Herbert said. "Both teams took the same attitude. Nobody on either teamgot down."
The teams went back and forth - Vance led 31-30 after four innings.
Because neither team was ahead by more than 10 through fivecomplete innings, the mercy rule didn't apply. In fact, the only onewho mentioned anything about stopping the game were some of the WestCharlotte players - the ones in the honors program.
"Five of my sophomores are in the top 10 of their class, theylooked at me and said, 'Coach Herbert, can we come back and finish thistomorrow, I've got pre-calculus homework to do,'" Herbert said.
These are true student-athletes. Even if many of them are just learning the athlete part.
Both sides indicated that the lack of a stronger youth-league ormiddle-school feeder systems leaves them with a lot of players who arenew to the game.
"For a lot of girls, this is the first time they've played outside of phys ed class," Gardner said.
It shows. It's tough to get an official count, but both sidesagree there were roughly 30 hits - and just as many walks and errors.
"This wasn't a slugfest," Gardner joked.
Ironically, the game turned on a defensive gem.
West Charlotte was protecting its three-run lead going into the bottomof the seventh. Vance got a runner on - then lifted a ball betweenshortstop and left field.
West Charlotte sophomore shortstop Diamond Brown - who grew upplaying Little League baseball and is thus her team's most experiencedplayer - raced back, leaped and caught the ball with an outstretchedglove. She then turned and threw a perfect strike to first for a doubleplay.
Three batters later it was over. But not soon forgotten.
Both teams have enjoyed the notoriety from the game - a highlight in a long season.
"We're 1 and a lot," Herbert joked about his team's record. "But the girls are enjoying their time in the spotlight."
At West Charlotte, they waited until the end of the school dayto make the announcement about the game - allowing the rumor of it tobuild all day. When it came, the students got the royal treatment.
"To get acknowledgement from their fellow students and thefaculty was everything" Herbert said. "Their chests were stuck out,their heads were up high. It was a real self-esteem builder. Thesoftball team here doesn't get a lot of attention."
It was the same thing at Vance, where wins also have been hard to come by.
"The running joke is that we missed the field goal that would have sent it into overtime," Gardner said.
The kids, however, didn't mind much.
"They were smiling, they had a great time," Gardner said. "I guess they were a little bummed because they lost.
"When you score 44 runs, you usually win."
Except when you play in the most unusual game anyone involved could recall.
